Mitt Romney: A good man.  The right fight.  —  Over the years, one of the more troubling characteristics of the Democratic Party and the left in general has been a shortage of loyalty and an abundance of self-loathing.  It would be a shame if we Republicans took a narrow presidential loss …

Behind the Susan Rice meeting meltdown  —  In just two quick meetings on Capitol Hill, Susan Rice may have blown up any goodwill she had with the very senators she'll need for confirmation if she's ever tapped as the next secretary of state.  —  Over the past two days …

Boehner shoots down proposal to agree to Obama tax demand  —  Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and other top Republicans on Wednesday shot down a proposal by a senior GOP lawmaker that the House agree to President Obama's demand to extend current tax rates for the middle class.

John Heilemann Makes Lindsey Graham Joke on ‘Morning Joe;’ Edited Out of 8am Reair  —  Just after 6am, on “Morning Joe” this morning, Joe, Mika and guest John Heilemann were talking about yesterday's New York Times article about “the three amigos” Senators John McCain, Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham …

YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT GLENN BECK DID TO AN OBAMA BOBBLEHEAD DURING HIS SHOW ON TUESDAY  —  UPDATE: Ebay, the online marketplace where Glenn Beck put his Obama creation up for auction for charity, has now pulled the ad.  At it's last bidding around 11:00 a.m. ET, the bid for the Obama doll in the jar was up to $11,300.

Convicted former Rep. Mel Reynolds wants Jackson seat in Congress  —  Clout Street  —  Disgraced former U.S. Rep. Mel Reynolds said he will ask voters to focus on his congressional experience rather than his state and federal criminal record as he announced his bid today for the seat held by Jesse Jackson Jr., who has resigned.

Rick Warren: Being Gay Is Like ‘Punching A Guy In The Nose’ Or Consuming Arsenic  —  Megachurch pastor Rick Warren remains as ill-informed on gay identity as ever.  Unfazed by the notion that there may be a biological cause for homosexuality, Warren told Piers Morgan on CNN this week that acting …

President uses hashtag ‘My2K’ in fiscal cliff PR effort  —  (CNN) - The White House looked to harness the power of social media - again - to boost its public relations push on the fiscal cliff by launching the #My2K hashtag Wednesday.  —  The effort to popularize the Twitter subject hashtag coincided …

Transcript: TIME's Interview with Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi  —  [Note: TIME had spelled the president's surname as “Morsy” based on his Ph.  D. dissertation for the University of Southern California; his advisers in Cairo say the preferred spelling is now Morsi.]  —  TIME: You're on the world stage now.

Grover Norquist is winning  —  You might think that Grover Norquist would be in hiding right now.  Republicans are parading before the cameras, one after the other, to proclaim their intention of breaking his anti-tax pledge.  And yet Norquist is everywhere.  He's doing television shows and talking with reporters.

Lamar Smith, Global Warming Skeptic, Set To Chair House Science Committee … REACT:  —  FOLLOW:  —  Climate Change, Climate Change, Climate Change, NASA, Video, Obama: Take 2, House Committee On Science, House Science Committee, NASA Funding, Rep. Lamar Smith, Global Warming Deniers …

Problems With a Reporter's Facebook Posts, and a Possible Solution  —  Start with a reporter who likes to be responsive to readers, is spontaneous and impressionistic in her personal writing style, and not especially attuned to how casual comments may be received in a highly politicized setting.

Could Bolling run for governor as an independent?  —  When Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling announced today that he will abandon the contest for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, he said he had decided to “suspend” his campaign for governor.  And he went on to say that he would be “a more independent voice” in the 2013 elections.

In Silicon Valley, Technology Talent Gap Threatens G.O.P. Campaigns  —  SAN FRANCISCO - I live in Brooklyn, where President Obama won 81 percent of the vote earlier this month.  It's hard to find anywhere in the country that is more Democratic-leaning.  —  But San Francisco qualifies.

No one reported shot, stabbed or slashed in New York City on Monday, police sources say  —  Neither Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne nor other officials could remember the last time a day ended with three zeros.  It likely didn't happen in 1990, when the city logged a record 2,245 murders …

How Access To Food Stamps Leads To Better Health And Economic Outcomes  —  Children who have access to the federal food stamp program — now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — in the earliest years of their lives have better health and economic outcomes later …

Two-thirds of millionaires left Britain to avoid 50p tax rate  —  Almost two-thirds of the country's million-pound earners disappeared from Britain after the introduction of the 50p top rate of tax, figures have disclosed.  —  George Osborne, the Chancellor, announced in the Budget earlier …